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If the Shoe Fits...
|Written By = Adam Armus & Nora Kay Foster |Story By = |Teleplay By = |Directed By = Josh Becker |Order in Series = 80 of 134 |Order in Season = 12 of 22 |Order in Franchise= 213 of 304 |Prev Episode in Series = "Daughter of Pomira" |Next Episode in Series = "Paradise Found" |Prev Episode in Franchise = "Sky High" |Next Episode in Franchise = "Stranger and Stranger" |title cap image = }} Xena, Gabrielle, Joxer, and Aphrodite tell their own versions of "Cinderella" to Aleshia, a young princess who has run away from home. Summary loses her shirt while taking a shower. ]]Gabrielle takes a shower while Joxer is asleep. Meanwhile, as the notorious warlord Zantar informs his brothers about their next conquest, Xena springs into their camp and swoops up the warlord, vowing to put him back into prison. Xena returns to her camp and finds Gabrielle wearing a burlap sack for a shirt. As Gabrielle explains that her shirt disappeared during her shower, she notices that Xena has used her shirt to tie him up. Xena wakes up Joxer and they break camp. As the three pass Aphrodite 's temple, they hear an explosion. Xena charges into the temple to find Aphrodite scolding a little girl. Suddenly, the child rushes into Xena's arms and Xena recognizes her to be Princess Alesia, the daughter of her good friend King Melos. Alesia says she ran away to find her Fairy Godsmother because she does not like her new stepmother, Queen Mistria. Xena promises to be Alesia's new Fairy Godsmother temporarily and leaves the temple to take her home. When Gabrielle realizes they are being followed by Zantar's brothers, Xena takes off to distract them and leaves Gabrielle behind to tell Alesia a story. Although perturbed at being assigned babysitting duty, Gabrielle begins her story about the cheerful Tyrella and her wicked stepmother Sidero and evil stepsister Pelia. Suddenly, Aphrodite, who misses Alesia and wants to take her back to her temple for good, appears and begins to tell her own version of the story. In Aphrodite's version, Sidero and Pelia are sexy vamps and Tyrella is a matronly young woman. As Tyrella is chastised by her evil relatives, a messenger enters and announces the Prince's ball. Xena returns and Aphrodite disappears. Upset about not getting the little girl, Aphrodite finds Zantar's brothers and offers to help them get Zantar back if they help her retrieve Alesia. Meanwhile, Xena leaves camp to take care of Zantar's men and tells Joxer to continue the story. In Joxer's version, the hero is Tyro and his evil stepfather wants to prevent him from going to the royal ball. But Tyro's Fairy Godsmother, Harmonia, helps him prepare for the affair and warns him to leave by sundown. When Tyro enters the ballroom, he immediately catches the eye of the Princess. When his time expires, Tyro runs out of the room with one of the Princess' shoes. Xena returns to camp and Alesia, bored with the story, has run off. Blaming Gabrielle, Xena leaves to look for the little girl. As she leaves, a beaten old woman stumbles into the camp. Gabrielle rushes off to find the woman's assailants and the old woman changes into Aphrodite. Aphrodite frees Zantar who promises to help her find Alesia. Meanwhile, Xena rescues Alesia who is hanging from a vine over a cliff's edge. They find Gabrielle and Joxer and set off to search for Aphrodite and Zantar. While they walk, Xena tells Alesia a story. In her version, Tyrella lives happily with her stepfamily and tells the Prince that she will make her own happy endings. When they reach the castle, Xena finds the royal guards bound and gagged and realizes that Zantar's men are posing as the King's guards. Xena enters the throne room and places Alesia and Queen Mistria in a closet to keep them out of danger. While Xena goes to dispose of Zantar and his thugs, Alesia and her stepmother reconcile and promise to rebuild their relationship. save the day.]] Outside the castle. Alesia stands with her parents and is happily reconciled with her new stepmother. Xena stands with Gabrielle and Joxer, and explains to Alesia the ending of the story with a happy ending. Aphrodite laughs and appears and she tells Alesia that her stepmother does love her. And Xena tries to get Aphrodite to admit she cares about a mortal, but she leaves in her own way of not admitting it. Disclaimer :No Fractured Fables were harmed in the production of this motion picture. Background Information Mythology *Although the stories in this episode are rather obviously riffs on Cinderella, Sidero, Pelia, and Tyro are in fact characters from mythology. Sidero was the second wife of Salmoneus and was the classic wicked step-mother to his daughter Tyrella, who bore twin sons (Pelias and Neleus) to Poseidon and a further three sons (Aeson, Pheres, and Amythaon) to the mortal Cretheus, king of Iolcos. Pelias and Neleus eventually avenged their mother's mistreatment and killed Sidero. Unfortunately for them, they executed her on top of an altar to Hera, who took offense at the sacrilege and orchestrated the events (the search for the Golden Fleece) that led to Aeson's son Jason killing them. *The story that Gabrielle and Joxer refer to at the end of this episode is an obvious reference to Pinocchio, a story by Carlo Collodi, which is about a wooden puppet whose nose grows each time he lies. Behind the Scenes *In Aphrodite's version of Cinderella, Lucy Lawless ad-libs the line, "I'm as dry as a Lizard". In the Season Four DVD commentary for the episode, she said that it was a homage to her childhood. *Sidero, the name of the wicked stepmother, means "iron" in ancient Greek. Key Events *This is the only episode of 's fourth season that Aphrodite appears in. Goofs *In the final scene, a talk between Gabrielle and Xena about why Gabrielle left occurs. In a close-up shot of Renée's head, a car can be seen driving by in the far background. Trivia *This is the last episode of set in Greece prior to the three-episode India arc. The next episode would be set in a different world, with the episode after being the first set in India. Xena and Gabrielle would return to Greece five episodes later in "The Play's the Thing." *Xena does not use her chakram in this episode. Links and References Guest Stars * Ted Raimi as Joxer (royal messenger, Tyro, Prince) * Alexandra Tydings as Aphrodite (Pelia, Sidero) * Olivia Tennet as Alesia * Chris Ryan as Zantar (Sidero) * Ted Clarke as Brother #1 (Pelia) * Douglas Kamo as Brother #2 * Alistair Browning as King Melos * Sally Spencer-Harris as Queen Mistria * Hilary Cleary as Old Woman * Renee O'Connor as Gabrielle (Tyrella, Princess, Harmonia) * Lucy Lawless as Xena (Sidero, Pelia, Harmonia, Tyrella) References People Goliath Deities Aphrodite Places Lumeria: Syra Other beaver, fairy godsmother: fairy tale Season Navigation de:Es war einmal...Xenarella Category:Parody_Episodes Category:XWP Season 4 episodes Category:Episodes Featuring Aphrodite Category:Episodes Featuring Joxer